Ex's With Benefits- San Francisco, CA
Written By: Hynter MacLeod
A lifetime ago, in a place that went from musical backwater to the eventual epicenter of the musical universe, a relatively unknown group named Green River would spawn music legends. The list is impressive to day the least: Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog, Pearl Jam. Well there may be a new name to add to this list, Ex's With Benefits.
After Green River broke up and it's members formed new projects song writer and drummer Alex Vincent left for Japan for a time. When he returned, he had a number of song that he had orginially written for aforementioned Green River and he wanted to see what he could do with them all these years later. He wanted to hear what these songs would sound like with vocals and reconnected with high school friend Dmitra Smith, vocalist for San Francisco's Static People. Smith's vocals immediately connected and a new collaboration was formed in 2012.
For an initial release, the bands first album Bad Hotel was ranked #1 in the Top Ten Best Albums- Editors Picks, by influential Pacific Northwest webzine Northwest Music Scene in 2015. (And #9 in the top 10 Reader's Poll)Dmitra is a fierce Dragoness of a lead siner, rising from the cauldron of an intense volcano of thunder and fury, provided through the music of the rest of the group! The sheer force of this band's message really and forcefully hits you at the core of your being in such a visceral and frantic way that it is hard not to be inspired. On a personal note, I would love to see this band live.
You can feel the scorching intensirty via the group's recordings, and the groups videos for Hey You and Infinite Detention meld the perfect mix of performance and visual artistry that is damn bear a call to arms to change the world! Both songs are absolutely brilliant and two of the stronger ones on an absolutely magnificent album. Guitartist Pascal Faivre blends the fine line between hard rock and punk in such a harmonious fashion as to please fans of both genres. Vincent is so in touch with bassist Dave Place that the gods of thunder and bass must obviously be pleased with the fabric of rhythm that they forge together.
If you are sick and tired of toucy feely shoe gaze bands, slick overly produced so called NuMetal, beard growing, skinny jean wearing, PBR swilling, I'm different and special, indie alt band wanna-be's and understand and want to turn your stereo to 11, Ex's With Benefits is a great place to start.
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About Hunter:
Hunter
is a freelance music writer that concentrates on finding outstanding,
unsigned, unknown and under appreciated bands from around the world and
unabashedly wields them onto the unsuspecting and the great unwashed.
His work has appeared on music sites kilScene (NYC/Brooklyn), Mother
Church Pew (NYC), and East of Eighth (Nashville). One of his writings
has even been shared and press quoted by a Grammy Nominated artist (Do
the Grammy's even matter anymore?!)
After
a particularly difficult and surreal week of work about five years ago
Hunter decided to search the dark, dusty corners and obscure underbelly
of the Internet. It was after hearing one of the same 30 songs that a so
called "New Rock" radio station played yet again on his way home. That
is what started him n his quixotic quest.
Since
then through many seasons of bleeding ears, anguish, and many neurotic
episodes, he has learned well how to hone the power of the Internet in
his search. Along with that, he has a vast array of concerts and music
rouges throughout the US and around the world, and his goal is to find
some of the most unique, fresh, and kick you in the ear hole artists and
bands. You can follow him on Twitter or Facebook (if you can find him!)
About Hunter:
Hunter is a freelance music writer that concentrates on finding outstanding, unsigned, unknown and under appreciated bands from around the world and unabashedly wields them onto the unsuspecting and the great unwashed. His work has appeared on music sites kilScene (NYC/Brooklyn), Mother Church Pew (NYC), and East of Eighth (Nashville). One of his writings has even been shared and press quoted by a Grammy Nominated artist (Do the Grammy's even matter anymore?!)
After a particularly difficult and surreal week of work about five years ago Hunter decided to search the dark, dusty corners and obscure underbelly of the Internet. It was after hearing one of the same 30 songs that a so called "New Rock" radio station played yet again on his way home. That is what started him n his quixotic quest.
Since then through many seasons of bleeding ears, anguish, and many neurotic episodes, he has learned well how to hone the power of the Internet in his search. Along with that, he has a vast array of concerts and music rouges throughout the US and around the world, and his goal is to find some of the most unique, fresh, and kick you in the ear hole artists and bands. You can follow him on Twitter or Facebook (if you can find him!)
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